Injury at work
A Glentham man has called on businesses to carry out proper risk assessments after an injury at work left him in agonising pain.
Paul Plant, aged 43, was working as a HGV driver for A D Jackson of Market Rasen in January 2006 when he injured his shoulder in treacherous weather conditions. He was in significant pain for 18 months and eventually the shoulder required surgery.
Paul, a former army paramedic, explained the situation: "I was pulling a large heavy tarpaulin over the top of my wagon in windy conditions. I had attached a ratchet strap to one side of the tarpaulin and was attempting to pull it over the wagon when there was a strong gust of wind which blew the tarpaulin upwards, like a sail. I was lifted four feet off the ground and felt my left shoulder pull before I came crashing down.
"I was injured because I wasn't provided with the correct training or equipment to do the job and no risk assessment was carried out. Safety rules are in place for a reason and businesses have a duty to protect their staff."
Lisa Fairclough from the Works Accident team at Irwin Mitchell, who represented Paul Plant, said: "While we are happy to have recovered damages for Mr Plant, this situation should never have occurred in the first place. He was left in agonising pain and unable to work for a number of weeks, both after the original accident and later after the resulting surgery.
"Manual handling tasks are one of the most common sources of injury at work, but can be one of the easiest to avoid.
"Employers need to ensure that risks are either eliminated or reduced to the lowest level and that employees have proper training in relation to manual handling. Even simple tasks such as moving, lifting, pushing or pulling objects can be dangerous and the dangers need to be recognised."
Irwin Mitchell recovered £13,750 for Paul Plant.